US military cuts generals, admirals by 20%, Hegseth says

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that the United States military has slashed the number of its generals and admirals by 20%.

He made the announcement while addressing junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia during what he called his "State of the Force" address.

"The number-crunchers say we fired 10% of the generals and admirals across the force," Hegseth said, adding: "We've also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10%."

"So yes, 20% reduction across the board," he noted. "The media calls that a purge. I call it accountability, and long overdue."

The address came a year after a similar speech to top officers in which Hegseth said the US military was too fat, too focused on leftist "woke" ideas, and in need of major shake-up.

Since the start of Donald Trump 's second term as president early last year, a number of top military personnel have been forced out of their positions.

Trump, for instance, fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles "CQ" Brown, without explanation in February 2025.

Other senior officers pushed out include the heads of the US Army, Navy and Coast Guard, the general who headed the National Security Agency, the vice chief of staff of the US Air Force, and a Navy admiral assigned to NATO .

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